Shell to Acquire Charging Provider NewMotion

​THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Royal Dutch Shell is enlarging its connection to alternative energy sources with its announced acquisition of NewMotion, a large European electric vehicle charging provider, CNN Money reports. NewMotion converts parking spaces into EV charging stations.

This is the first acquisition by Shell in the electric charging sphere. Currently, the oil company has more than 30,000 EV charge points in Europe. “This is a way of broadening our offer as we move through the energy transition,” said Matthew Tipper, vice president of new fuels for Shell. “It’s certainly a form of diversification.”

The irony is that NewMotion—with a founding mission to “contribute to a cleaner world by eradicating fossil fuels”—will now have a fossil fuel company as its parent company. NewMotion CEO Sytse Zuidema commented that the acquisition will accelerate the growth of NewMotion. “We are here not to fuel cars with petrol, but with electricity,” Zuidema said.

European oil companies like BP, Shell and Total have been investing faster in renewable energy such as wind and solar, as well as electric car charging because European governments have been going after gasoline-powered engines. Already, France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom have publicly endorsed plans to eliminate cars powered only by gas or diesel fuel.

“We feel closer to it,” said Tipper. “The degree to which electrification is changing mobility is very, very apparent here. It leads to this mindset.”